Six Organs of Admittance tours abroad, making the backpacking American feel at home

You did it! You graduated college and saved up enough of your parents’ money to go backpacking in Europe. Unfortunately, your best friend can’t go, saying Jimmy John’s won’t make him a manager if he leaves for a month. Your girlfriend also can’t go since she’s only a senior in high school, and anyway, she doesn’t think you should be together anymore. So, you’re on your own!

You recall reading the well-written TMT review for Six Organs of Admittance’s latest album on Drag City, Asleep on the Floodplain. After listening to the album, it may have changed your life, and the lush guitar landscapes made you feel alive and independent.

And so, before the start of your trip abroad, you notice Ben Chasny’s Six Organs of Admittance will be performing in Italy, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. Hey. you’ll be in the Netherlands! You romanticize an ethereal experience of the familiar overcoming the unknown.

Once you make it to the show, though, some tall brunette spills a beer on you. After the set, you walk up to Chasny and tell him you’re from America and that you loved the show. He says, “Cool, man,” and then walks away. This will be the last noteworthy moment of your life.

Kurt Vile has been doing pretty well for himself. He just finished touring with J Mascis in what was perhaps the greatest joining of long-hairs since the 80s, and Smoke Ring From My Halo (TMT Review), quite frankly, exploded immediately after its release in March (don’t let the rating deter you; this stuff is hot). In a way, Kurt’s progression is a little like the development of The Office: Mascis finishes the tour, Steve Carrell leaves; the only way to top Steve is bringing in Will Farrell, and so next up on the marquee with Kurt is none other than Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore. By the time they begin the tour circuit, Thurston’s newest solo album, Demolished Thoughts, will be out from Matador (official date: May 24), showcasing Moore’s sensitive singer/songwriter side — if the free Mp3 download of “Benediction” is any indication. Let’s see if sparks fly!

At this rate, what’s Kurt Vile going to do next? Bring Kurt Cobain back from the dead, say, for a free show?

There are lots of bands out there who are currently making good money and satisfying many a longtime fan by trotting out their salad-days masterworks night after night onto big cushy stages made of wood, fiberglass, and their own laurels. But The Flaming Lips are not one of those bands. Yes, they have been known to play 1999’s classic The Soft Bulletin front to back every once in a while. But if ol’ Wayne, Mike, Steve, and New Steve are ‘resting’ on anything, it’s not their laurels. It’s their giant BALLS.

According to a recent post by Consequence of Sound, the Lips are not only playing The Soft Bulletin live for shits, they’re going full tilt and turning it into a live album! Never mind that the thing is hard as heck to pull off live or that it has a pretty intimidating reputation as a ‘classic’ or that the band is 12 years older now! An email from the band confirmed that they were indeed working on the Soft Bulletin live album when they recently recorded at SUNY’s School of Music. (Oh, and if that’s not enough to convince you, there’s also the fact that they literally posted the cover to their Twitter page.) No release date as of now, but yeah, it looks like it’ll be heavy on the balls.

But enough about balls. Let’s talk about some tits instead: The Los Angeles Times has reported that the Lips are planning a two-night stint at, yes, the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in L.A. on June 14-15. Billed as “Everyone You Know Someday Will Die,” the event will feature a full set of The Soft Bulletin on the first night, a full set of The Dark Side of the Moon on the second night, and a whole bunch of fearless freakiness in between. Two-day passes are on sale tomorrow at 5 PM EST for $80 and are available at Ticketfly.

Hmm, something tells me that if you’re not, like, SERIOUSLY into nudity, neither of these things is really gonna be your bag. But hey, luckily for you prudes, Coyne ‘n’ Co. are actually playing a lot standard-issue festivals this summer. Let’s see here… there’s “Hangout” Festival, “Forbidden Fruit” Festival, and even “Eden Project” in the UK. Doesn’t sound like any of those things include nudity… right???

Two years ago, like a beneficent demigod to whom devoted mortals burn incense and sacrifice virgins, the heavens parted and Kickstarter peered down from the clouds, ready to help aspiring filmmakers, musicians, and other artistic souls achieve their dreams. The concept behind the Kickstarter website is simple. Artists start a project page and set a fundraising goal. Usually different incentives to contribute are available at different levels. If the goal is reached, the artists get the donations. If not, nobody’s credit card gets charged.

In the first two years of its life, Kickstarter has helped donors and musicians connect to the tune of $13.1 million dollars, two dead goats, and several hundred pounds of Nag Champa-brand incense. (Legal note: no goats were harmed in the launching of Kickstarter.) Films are the biggest recipients of Kickstarter funding, with music coming in second, and art, publishing, and theatre at the lower end of the spectrum.

Last month, 2,200 projects were launched through Kickstarter. That’s almost double the number of projects started in December. SAY WHAT? 20,371 projects have been started on Kickstarter, and 7,496 have been successful. That’s a 43% success rate — not bad! The site has helped fund projects by The Rural Alberta Advantage, Marissa Nadler, Time-Lag Records, hopefully R. Stevie Moore, the filmmakers behind a Mekons documentary, and most famously — or infamously— Detroit’s new RoboCop statue.

Amon Tobin has announced that his new album on Ninja Tune, ISAM — his first since 2007’s Foley Room (TMT Review) — is set for release on May 23. What Tobin did not foresee when making this announcement was the strong reaction from confused Muslims around the world due to its title, causing the album hyped as being “[Tobin’s] most intense work of his very considerable career, an extension and refinement of everything he has achieved thus far” to be mistaken by thousands for a piece of artwork paying tribute to Islam. Now, many that preorded ISAM are speaking out against this marketing mixup.

“I heard about Mr. Tobin’s new record, ISAM,” one fellow said, “and I immediately thought it was perhaps a study tool for the Quran, or perhaps some sort of music that expressed the true beauty of Allah, but I soon found out what it was and — no insult to Mr. Tobin — was disappointed to find out what I had spent my money on. I hope I can prevent any other fellow Muslims from avoiding my mistake. I will say that my son loves the record, though.”

The new album is also accompanied by an art installation, titled “ISAM: Control Over Nature,” which was co-created by Tobin and Tessa Farmer (part of the Saatchi Collection) and is on display between May 26 and June 6 at London’s Crypt Gallery.

Drawn in by the warm weather, relaxing beaches, and quick access to Cuban food and Disney World, everyone’s favorite prince, Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, along with The Cairo Gang, have announced a massive world tour of Florida. The band will be doing a series of in-store appearances throughout the Florida area to promote their Drag City album together, The Wonder Show of the World, their newer Island Brothers Haiti benefit 10-inch, and mostly their newfound love of The Sunshine State.

Now, I may have lied and said that the band would only be appearing in FL. This is so close to being true. But the band will actually be kicking off their Florida Is Right For Me Tour by playing a show in Chicago, just to rub it in as many Midwestern faces as possible how much better the weather is in Florida.